First Beverage Group Acts as Financial Advisor to Four Peaks Brewing Company

First Beverage Group:

First Beverage Financial, the investment banking arm of First Beverage Group, announced that it acted as the financial advisor to Arizona’s largest craft brewer, Four Peaks Brewing Company, in its agreement to sell to The High End, the craft business unit of Anheuser-Busch. Terms of the transaction, which is expected to close in the first quarter of the year, were not disclosed.

Co-founded in 1996 by Andy Ingram, Jim Scussel and Randy Schultz, Four Peaks produces award-winning beers including its Kilt Lifter Scottish-style ale and sold approximately 70,000 barrels in 2015. The company also operates three brewpubs in Tempe and Scottsdale, as well as a location inside Phoenix’s Sky Harbor International Airport. The founders will maintain their headquarters in Arizona and will continue to manage daily brewery operations.

“Aside from First Beverage’s knowledge of the industry and their seemingly unending connection to buyers, the thing that most impressed me was the sense that they always had their eye on the ball,” said co-founder Andy Ingram. “When you begin this process I think it’s easy to underestimate how involved it can be. We still had two thriving breweries and three pubs to run, which is more than a full-time job. First Beverage was there to do a lot of the things we just wouldn’t have been able to do. They kept us focused and moving forward, and we couldn’t have done it without them.”

“Four Peaks could not have made this transaction happen without the meticulous attention to detail and thoughtful guidance exhibited by First Beverage throughout the entire process,” added co-founder Jim Scussel.

“Over the past twenty years the Four Peaks team has built a tremendous craft brewery and pub operation in their home state of Arizona,” said Nicole Fry, managing partner of First Beverage. “We were honored to play a role in the company’s new partnership with The High End unit of Anheuser-Busch, which provides Four Peaks with a long-term, value-added strategic partner to accelerate the company’s growth initiatives in Arizona and beyond.”

“As an Arizona resident and longtime consumer of Four Peaks’ excellent beers, it was a unique pleasure to be able to represent Andy, Jim, Randy and the rest of their team in this transaction,” said Ryan Lake, director of First Beverage. “I’m excited to see what the future holds as they continue to grow and make award-winning beer.”